Some European Countries Asked for EU Fozen Budget
Britain, France, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands asked yesterday that the European Union budget is frozen at least until 2020, according to a joint letter to the bloc’s executive. The letter, addressed to European Commission President Jose Barroso, stated that the entire EU budget should not be increased beyond the rate of inflation over the long term plan of the bloc after 2013.
“The European public expenditure can not be relieved of the considerable efforts of Member States to bring under control its public finances, “said the letter, which was published by the French presidency. The 27 EU nations will start negotiations in mid-2011 on long-term budget, which runs from 2014 through 2020 or beyond. Next year’s budget reached 126 thousand five hundred million euros, with more than 40 percent serving agriculture and third in aid to impoverished regions.
The letter was signed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister, David Cameron, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and the Finnish leader, Mari Kiviniemi. During an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, Cameron showed his support for a lower cost plan, saying the bloc needed verdaderamemte limited budget. ” However, efforts to cut costs probably will face stiff opposition from poorer countries of eastern Europe, which currently benefit from nations with greater ease.